Tafsir of Surah At-Taubah - Verse 83

Hypocrites are barred from participating in Jihad

Allah commands His Messenger, peace be upon him,

فَإِن رَّجَعَكَ اللَّهُ

(If Allah brings you back), from this battle,

إِلَى طَآئِفَةٍ مِّنْهُمْ

(to a party of them) in reference to the twelve (hypocrite) men, according to Qatadah,

فَاسْتَأْذَنُوكَ لِلْخُرُوجِ

(and they ask your permission to go out), with you to another battle,

فَقُلْ لَّن تَخْرُجُواْ مَعِىَ أَبَدًا وَلَن تُقَـتِلُواْ مَعِىَ عَدُوًّا

(say: "Never shall you go out with me nor fight an enemy with me...") as an admonishment and punishment for them. Allah mentioned the reason for this decision,

إِنَّكُمْ رَضِيتُمْ بِالْقُعُودِ أَوَّلَ مَرَّةٍ

("You were pleased to sit (inactive) on the first occasion...") Allah said in a similar Ayah,

وَنُقَلِّبُ أَفْئِدَتَهُمْ وَأَبْصَـرَهُمْ كَمَا لَمْ يُؤْمِنُواْ بِهِ أَوَّلَ مَرَّةٍ

(And We shall turn their hearts and their eyes away (from guidance), as they refused to believe therein for the first time. ) 6:110 The recompense of an evil deed includes being directed to follow it with another evil deed, while the reward of a good deed includes being directed to another good deed after it. For instance, Allah said concerning the `Umrah of Hudaybiyyah,

سَيَقُولُ الْمُخَلَّفُونَ إِذَا انطَلَقْتُمْ إِلَى مَغَانِمَ لِتَأْخُذُوهَا

(Those who lagged behind will say, when you set forth to take the spoils.)48:15 Allah said next,

فَاقْعُدُواْ مَعَ الْخَـلِفِينَ

("...then you sit (now) with those who lag behind.") in reference to the men who lagged behind from Tabuk battle, according to Ibn `Abbas.

The statement: لَّن تَخْرُ‌جُوا (Ian takhruju ... you shall never march) in the second verse (83) has been explained by Maulana Ashraf ` Ali Thanavi (رح) in the summary of his Tafsir Bay-an a1-Qur'an. According to him, ` even if these people intend to participate in a future Jihad, they would get out of it when they want to, under one or the other pretext; and since they do not have faith in their heart, their intention too will not be backed by sincerity. Therefore, the Holy Prophet ﷺ was commanded that, even if they want to take part in a Jihad, he should tell them the truth that he does not trust their word and deed. So, they would neither go for Jihad nor fight an enemy of Islam in his company.'

Most of the commentators have said that this injunction has been enforced as their punishment in the present world, that is, even if they themselves were to make a request that they be allowed to take part in Jihad, even then, they should not be allowed to do that.

Hypocrites of this kind are always those who, because of their policy of expediency, gather around themselves the resources of position and wealth. Due to this, the general run of Muslims are impressed by their worldly position. Their glamorous lives and their glib talk make them seem great in the eyes of the common man. This can create moments of grave trial for an Islamic society, because, in a truly Islamic society, such people ought to be ignored rather than being given places of honour. The real Islamic society will not be willing to accord a position of honour to those about whom it is abundantly clear that they are Muslims in name only, being in fact loyal only to their own vested interests and worldly considerations. The fate of such people is that in Islamic functions they find a place only on the back benches; they have no share in the congregational affairs of Muslims, being held unfit to grace religious offices. Any society in which such people have been able to attain a position of honour can never be looked upon with favour by God.